Top Girl Group Scenario Rewritten with My Own Hands - Chapter 35

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 35
“So what did Evergrit perform?”
“They did ‘Let’s Dance.’ It’s a song by Woo Min-jeong.”
“Oh, good song choice. Wonder what their ranking was.”
Han Jeong-yeon’s tablet was playing the main broadcast of LBC’s “That Song Back Then.” Yeo Eun-jae half-listened to the bland jokes from the MCs and waited eagerly for their stage to appear.
Among the recent rookies, they were a group that seemed genuinely talented and had “something special”—especially now that they’d added this charming younger sister who was fun to tease. That was Evergrit.
Though Daylight had launched straight into a World Tour after wrapping up their activities, so they hadn’t gotten as close as they might have, Evergrit debuted during the Aurora campaign period, and Yeo Eun-jae had managed to build some connection with members besides Hyun-seo.
Curious. Han Jeong-yeon had strongly agreed with that assessment from Yeo Eun-jae.
A group that stirred up curiosity in multiple ways—that description fit perfectly.
“Oh, they’re starting.”
At those words, Yeo Eun-jae shifted her gaze from her phone to Han Jeong-yeon’s tablet.
[So what will Evergrit’s “Let’s Dance” look like?]
The screen cuts to a darkened stage, accompanied by subtitles in the somewhat provincial font typical of broadcast television.
In contrast to most of the band being set up behind the stage, a single keyboard is positioned forward at the side.
As the pin light illuminates the keyboard, the sharp tap-tap-tap of heels echoes through, and Seo Ji-on emerges beneath the pin light in a colorful retro outfit.
Let us all forget for a moment
Dance, let’s dance—
Seo Ji-on inserts her hand microphone into the stand and begins playing Jazz on the keyboard, singing the first verse.
After bringing the relatively restrained Jazz keyboard solo to a slow close, the drum count signals the beginning—a glissando on the keyboard descending from high to low notes, followed by a brass section eruption that adds strong energy.
Seizing that energy, the remaining darkened lights burst on in perfect timing, flooding the stage twice in rapid succession.
Hyun Jae-i, leaning on a Pastel-toned Long Umbrella like a cane, tilts her head and smiles.
What follows is a solo dance section from Hyun Jae-i set to flashy swing Jazz. The way she joins the other members at just the right moment and hits the start of the song with them—it’s definitely an impressive opening.
“Didn’t Hyun-seo say last time that this was a last-minute arrangement?”
“Yeah. The quality’s really good though…….”
When you look closely, there are definitely some details that fall short technically.
But the arrangement and stage direction they pulled together in just two weeks feel threatening—the ideas are good, and the quality is high.
“Are you scared, unnie?”
“No, not scared exactly…….”
Yeo Eun-jae paused for a moment, then spoke again slowly.
“We need to work harder too.”
They seem to be rising faster than expected.
Somehow, it feels like we’ve met some rare junior artists in this era.
***
We recorded a final second place on “That Song Back Then.”
‘Honestly, considering recognition and all that, this is a huge success…….’
The choice to emphasize vocals while handling the flashy dancing as individual responsibility and focusing on simple, large-scale choreography with minimal detail—it was the right call.
Audiences at these kinds of programs definitely prefer vocals over dancing anyway.
And…….
“Ah, I think I know what Ji-on’s thinking right now.”
“What.”
“That she should’ve had Han-byeol do Jazz way earlier.”
“…How did you guess right?”
“Yes! I totally read Seo Ji-on’s mind, didn’t I? Did Han-byeol do a little well this time? She did amazingly.”
Looking at Kang Su-ah, happy just from getting this one thing right, I couldn’t help but laugh hollowly. With hundreds of problems to deal with, this one somehow managed to look like “no issues whatsoever!”
Lee Han-byeol sang Jazz better than I’d expected.</
So much better that if I'd known she could do this well, I regret not touching up those bland parts I'd left sparse to adjust difficulty.
"I've been feeling a sense of crisis with Han-byeol lately."
"Now what's that about."
"Her growth rate is so fast that in just another six months she'll probably sing better than me……."
"Is that so."
"The years I wasted loafing around during entrance exams feel unfair now—our Han-byeol sings so, so well……."
"Exaggerating like that isn't praise, it's deception."
"Is it? Really, is that too much?!"
"Why do you do this when you know better……."
"Praise me too then."
"Fine, fine. Kang Su-ah sings well. Happy now?"
Only after hearing me say she sang well did Kang Su-ah laugh contentedly, making a little "hehe" sound.
I really don't understand why she's like this……. Even in my past life, I gave up trying to understand this girl more than once, but moments like this are even more baffling.
Still, setting aside the exaggeration, I think I understand what that sense of crisis really is.
Because I've been frequently amazed by Lee Han-byeol's development speed lately too.
I thought I had clear data from my past life to rely on, but Lee Han-byeol's growth rate has rendered it almost meaningless. The young Lee Han-byeol, with her vocal condition still fresh, turned out to be far more of a raw gem than I'd anticipated.
Thinking about it again, Music Prove really should've gone under.
Not assigning a single trainer to a talent like that, offering zero protection to artists, and ultimately damaging her voice…….
Those years are gone now, but I remember everything.
Still, since we're already contracted with Music Prove, the company can't fall…….
X isn't helping at all, and it's like only our dedicated team gets X-ed by this lousy X entertainment company, but it still can't collapse…….
A small sigh escaped me without thinking. Just imagining the companies of the competitors we'd face over the Rookie Award mission threatened to make me sigh even deeper, so I forced my thoughts elsewhere.
Does the system not do balance patches on company standings at all……?
I wish it would either re-patch the balance or cancel the Rookie Award mission…….
***
A girl walks out from a city rendered entirely in black and white, buildings that look poorly maintained.
The girl walks through streets where, like some blockbuster movie, nothing but wind and footsteps can be heard.
The camera follows the slowly walking girl through a desolate city rendered with apparently all the expensive special effects money can buy, and then…….
At some point, the girl turns sharply.
[ASHCORD]
[PN.Ent]
And I watched that scene without any particular interest, chin resting on my hand.
The YouTube screen on the monitor in the studio had already stopped at the end of the playback bar.
"How much did they spend on this? Looks like they used a drone."
"It's a PN though."
"It's not even the main Debut Teaser video, just one member's video, and they're throwing money around like crazy……."
"Wow, Ji-on, please watch your language……. Don't use harsh words with that look on your face!"
"What, what. What's wrong with my face?"
"Um, looks like you're about to kill either PN or our CEO."
"You're spot on."
"Yikes!"
I casually ignored Kang Su-ah's whining.
Right now……, I'm in a genuinely foul mood.
I never thought I'd be bothered by another company having money.
But after trying desperately to keep up appearances, scraping by in this shabby little setup and not looking broke, seeing a corporation splurging money from the teaser onwards is incredibly grating.
The CEO's still a biased old fossil, the company's broke, and the system insists I become an idol and beat out these rich girls' daughters to snag the Rookie Award.
Man, it's grating.
Really, seriously, incredibly grating. My prospects look bleak, which makes it all the more infuriating.
Of course those members aren't at fault. Big agencies don't just take anyone. Those girls probably worked hard to get in too.
Still, I can't help how I feel. I'm not planning to vent on anyone, don't intend to show frustration in front of them, and definitely have no intention of being spiteful, but the fundamental irritation from their very origin is unavoidable.
"I think I've gotten twisted, but it's not like they did anything wrong…… Still, I don't like it."
"Um~, I agree. Com~pletely!"
Surprisingly, the response came from Hyun Jae-i. I turned my head as if startled, and Hyun Jae-i laughed brightly with a mischievous expression.
"Unnie, we practically lived at the company while prepping for our debut! In November when I got tired of going up there, I slept in your bed, remember?!"
"Huh? Oh, I'm just learning that now. But things don't seem that different from back then…… Your hair all over my blankets is crazy. I don't dye mine so it shows up everywhere."
"Oh no, am I losing my hair?!"
"Why would a nineteen-year-old worry about that……."
When I looked at her incredulously, Hyun Jae-i laughed happily for a long while. I really don't get why she's laughing like that…….
"Anyway, unnie, we wouldn't have made our debut on time without you, you know?"
"Well, that's roughly true, since I wrote the song."
"That too, and you worked with the whole dedicated team every day. You were in the studio all the time except when practicing and going to school. Anyway!"
"So?"
"Seeing rich kids who don't know anything when you're stuck with a hole-in-the-wall situation—that'd make anyone annoyed. I totally get you, unnie."
Well. That's surprisingly insightful?
Hyun Jae-i's insight is actually quite sharp, even if it doesn't always look that way. Whether you call it intelligence or good instincts.
"And honestly, I don't like PN either. It's personal."
"Personal?"
"They kept saying my debut was coming soon, soon, and then suddenly said there'd be no debut plans for a while, and all my close unnies left and I had to stick around for another half year or so before I debuted. I'm annoyed too! I only know one person among those kids."
Hyun Jae-i, who'd been chattering away while looking at me, turned her gaze to the monitor.
She stared at the monitor where the Ashcord teaser video was paused—the one I'd wound back briefly to look at the special effects—and spoke.
"She's probably the oldest among the debut members? Though even her trainee period was short. Cho Eun-bin, I don't keep in touch but she's my age. The rest of them supposedly joined after I left."
"You heard that?"
"Yeah. Remember when you showed me that article last time and asked about it? So I asked a junior who was still there, and she said they basically dropped most of the long-term trainees and formed the debut team with kids who'd been there less than a year. There was some talk about internal office politics or something, but that's beyond what I know, so I'll skip it. Oh, and this might be somewhat biased information."
"You were practically dying of fatigue that time, weren't you? I remember."
"Yeah. I remember you mentioning the Rookie Award too."
"I just said it casually but you remember that……."
"Hehe."
Hyun Jae-i laughed with a smug, self-satisfied expression as if showing off.
What a handful……. In multiple ways, she's surprisingly quick on the uptake.
"I mean, I want to win the Rookie Award too. It'll be tough, but still!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"On our final broadcast, Unnie Ji-on saw the Ashcord debut article and said they'd be competitors for the Rookie Award."
"That's…… a pretty uncharacteristic goal for someone like Ji-on……."
"Exactly! That's why I thought you were such a realistic person, unnie!"
"…What kind of image do I even have? Do I really seem like I have no ambition?"
"Oh no, it's not that. More like…… you seemed like you wouldn't even glance at things that don't seem doable……."
I was so taken aback that I let out a hollow laugh.
Once when the mission appeared, to Hyun Jae-i. Once today, to Kang Su-ah.
I've been rated as very pessimistic about this mission's prospects twice already? Seriously.
"What couldn't be done? Did you think I'd become an idol this time last year?"
"Oh wow, now that I think about it that way, it does seem like it could happen."
"Do I always have to explain things with examples like that for you to get it……?"
"But friend, realistically…… Actually, you probably know the reality better than anyone, so why……?!"
I tried to brush it off, maintaining a composed expression, but Kang Su-ah kept poking me with comments that hit pretty close to the mark.
If only Kang Su-ah could file a balance patch complaint to the system on my behalf. She'd be such a better complainer than me…….
I stared at the studio monitor and clicked on one of the recommended YouTube videos with a new upload tag.
I'd been meaning to watch this anyway, and there was some time before the one I originally wanted came out…….
"Alright, let's just watch what we were planning to watch. I'm honestly curious how the edit turned out."
"Wow, me too honestly!"
【[EVER-DO-IT!] EP.03 Month of Family: Find the Child】
A proper entertainment-format video starting with actual filming.
…Honestly, I wasn't thinking straight during the shoot, so I wonder how it came out.
Rewriting Top Girl Group Scenarios with My Own Hands
Author
: Nam Seo-rang
Production Date
: January 5, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 4F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with the copyright holder's agreement,
and the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260102083.0035

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————